Microbial-driven ectopic uranium extraction with net electrical energy production  

作　　者：Xin Tang Yin Ye Chunlin Wang Bingqian Wang Zemin Qin Cui Li Yanlong Chen Yuheng Wang Zhiling Li Miao Lv Aijie Wang Fan Chen 

机构地区：[1]School of Ecology and Environment,Northwestern Polytechnical University,Xi’an 710129,China [2]School of Materials Science and Engineering,Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology,Xi’an 710055,China [3]State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment,School of Environment,Harbin Institute of Technology,Harbin 150090,China [4]Faculty of Geosciences and Environmental Engineering,Southwest Jiaotong University,Chengdu 611756,China

出　　处：《Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering》2024年第1期49-58,共10页环境科学与工程前沿（英文）

基　　金：supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.52200202 and 42077352).

摘　　要：The extraction of uranium (U) from U-bearing wastewater is of paramount importance for mitigating negative environmental impacts and recovering U resources. Microbial reduction of soluble hexavalent uranium (U(VI)) to insoluble tetravalent uranium (U(IV)) holds immense potential for this purpose, but its practical application has been impeded by the challenges associated with managing U-bacterial mixtures and the biotoxicity of U. To address these challenges, we present a novel spontaneous microbial electrochemical (SMEC) method that spatially decoupled the microbial oxidation reaction and the U(VI) reduction reaction. Our results demonstrated stable and efficient U extraction with net electrical energy production, which was achieved with both synthetic and real wastewater. U(VI) removal occurred via diffusion-controlled U(VI)-to-U(IV) reduction-precipitation at the cathode, and the UIVO_(2) deposited on the surface of the cathode contributed to the stability and durability of the abiotic U(VI) reduction. Metagenomic sequencing revealed the formation of efficient electroactive communities on the anodic biofilm and enrichment of the key functional genes and metabolic pathways involved in electron transfer, energy metabolism, the TCA cycle, and acetate metabolism, which indicated the ectopic reduction of U(VI) at the cathode. Our study represents a significant advancement in the cost-effective recovery of U from U(VI)-bearing wastewater and may open a new avenue for sustainable uranium extraction.

关 键 词：U(VI)bioreduction Electricity production Reaction decoupling Uranium-bearing wastewater Biofilm microbiome 

分 类 号：X703[环境科学与工程—环境工程]